Phylogenetic and Functional Traits Verify the Combined Effect of Deterministic and Stochastic Processes in the Community Assembly of Temperate Forests along an Elevational Gradient

Explaining community assembly mechanisms along elevational gradients dominated by deterministic processes or stochastic processes is a pressing challenge. Many studies suggest that phylogenetic and functional diversity are significant indicators of the process. In this study, we analyzed the structu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inForests Vol. 12; no. 5; p. 591
Main Authors Zhou, Wensong, Zhang, Yuxin, Zhang, Shuang, Yakimov, Basil N., Ma, Keming
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.05.2021
Subjects
Assembly
Biodiversity
community assembly
Ecology
elevational gradient
Environmental effects
Evolution
Forest communities
functional trait
Hypotheses
Morphology
Phylogenetics
Phylogeny
Physiology
Stochastic models
Stochastic processes
Stochasticity
Temperate forests
woody plant
Woody plants
Beijing China
China
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Summary:Explaining community assembly mechanisms along elevational gradients dominated by deterministic processes or stochastic processes is a pressing challenge. Many studies suggest that phylogenetic and functional diversity are significant indicators of the process. In this study, we analyzed the structure and beta diversity of phylogenetic and functional traits along an elevational gradient and discussed the effects of environmental and spatial factors. We found that the phylogenetic and functional traits showed inconsistent changes, and their variations were closely related to the abiotic environment. The results suggested that the community assembly of woody plants was obviously affected by the combined effect of deterministic processes and the stochastic hypothesis (primarily by the latter). Phylogenetic and functional traits had a certain relationship but changed according to different rules. These results enhance our understanding of the assembly mechanism of forest communities by considering both phylogenetic and functional traits.
ISSN:1999-4907
1999-4907
DOI:10.3390/f12050591